Far be it from me to leave a depressing story at the top of the website for long. In the last post, I talked about the worst night monetarily that I’ve ever had playing poker. However, I had all day yesterday at work to sort it out, and was able to take solace in the correct decisions, rather than the outcomes of the hands. I was getting my money in while I was ahead, and that is what is important. So, I decided that I would go home after work yesterday (Thursday night) and sit back down at the $2/$4 tables. This limit is my staple, but I will play $1/$2 and $3/$6 and even $5/$10 if the games look right.
I told myself that I wasn’t out to make back the $300 that night, but I wanted to concentrate on making reads, and making good decisions. I went back to Party Poker, and played in the office while Rhya was cleaning the bathroom (she has been on this deep-clean-you-can-eat-off-of-any-surface-in-the-house cleaning binge lately.) There weren’t any really memorable hands, but I found two tables that were particularly juicy, and started my march upwards. When Rhya was finished cleaning, I wrote down the table names, and logged off. I ran into the living room and jumped back on the tables in there. To make a long story short, I made back about $160 playing there.
I was pretty happy with that, but I don’t really enjoy the games at Party as much lately. Now, don’t get me wrong, the money is there, so it is still my staple site. However, I’ve found the players at Ultimatebet (at least in the $1/$2 to $3/$6 tables) are extremely weak/tight. Tight means that they only like to play really good hands (nothing wrong there). Weak means that they don’t tend to know how to play after the flop unless they have a big hand. I like to call these kinds of players “bookworm newbies”. They’ve read some poker books, and use them as an instruction manual to play the game. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had a little chart by the computer telling them what hands to play.
I’m not bashing that type of play, as it is normally profitable, as long as you find the loose/passive players at a site like Party to play against. Heck, I built up part of my bankroll playing this way. But, I would like to think that I have progressed some in my poker ability, and that I have found ways to make money from different types of players. And, now, I’m enjoying separating some of these types of players from their bankroll.
Really, there are two reasons why playing against the bookworm newbies is so profitable. First, you can rob them blind. All you need to do is show down one hand early with some trash hand like 10-7 suited or J 2 offsuit, or something like that. Then, the bookworm newbie will remember on page 10 of “Bob’s book of holdem” that you shouldn’t play that hand, and then label me as a fish. Then, all night long, you can call their raises with almost any two cards, and steal the pot when no overcards hit. You’ll have them muttering “Lucky fish, he hits every crappy flop…His time will come….”
The second reason is that they tend to overvalue Top Pair Top Kicker (TPTK – or AK with a board of K 6 4). If you are in the blind and see a cheap flop with K6, or in position and see a flop with 66, you can get almost endless action from these players. The same is true with an overpair. They immediately marry themselves to hands like AA and QQ.
Ok, I digress. So, I start playing at Ultimatebet, at the $2/$4 Kill table. What the kill means is this: If a person wins two hands in a row, then until that person loses, it becomes a “Kill” game, which doubles all betting rounds. This effectively turns it into a $4/$8 limit game for a hand or two. So, I discussed the players that I normally play against in this game above. I played for about 45 minutes to an hour, and I was up about $50 when this hand comes up. A person wins his second hand in a row, and turns the game into a $4/$8 game. Right then, I wake up with AA in the first position after the blinds. This is also know as “Under the Gun” (UTG).
Before I tell how the hand plays out, there is a definitely shift in table culture when the Kill is instituted. Normally prudent, tight players decide that the poker game turns into a slot machine, and are lured into playing crap hands by the “big payout”. They don’t understand that the game is still the same, and odds haven’t changed. …
I raise to $8, and the dealer calls, as well as the Big Blind. the Flop comes 872 rainbow. The big blind bets out $4, and I raise to $8. The dealer flat calls, and the big blind calls as well. Well, I’m in a quandry at this point. The only thing that I’m really worried about at this point is a baby pocket pair that caught its third card on the flop. I decide to try to get some information on the turn. The turn card is a 3. The big blind checks, I check behind him, and the button bets. The blind calls, and I immediately check raise. I figure, if he has a monster, he’ll cap the betting. Both call, and I’m pretty confident that I’m in the lead at this point. I figure one with a couple overcards, and one with a smaller pocket pair. The river comes a Q, and the big blind bets out again. I’m a bit upset here, thinking that he may have hit his third Queen on the river, but I weigh more that he might have just hit one of his overcards. I raise here, and both call! I’m a bit nervous, and here is the board, and our hands. Board: 8725 Me: AA, Blind: 10-10, Dealer J8o! I rake the pot (which has grown to about $150)!
I played for a little bit more, enough to win $302 for the night, making me a GIGANTIC $2 winner for Wed. and Thurs. combined.
Moral of the story: Play to make the correct decisions, and the money will follow.
